Thursday, October 04, 2012

Trendspot: Korean Miracle 2.0

In 1960, South Korea was poorer than two-thirds of the nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Today it’s the world’s most digital nation, with a per capita income of nearly $28,000, higher than New Zealand ($27K) or Portugal ($22K). This transformation largely took place during 1965-1985, and is known as the “Korean Miracle.”South Korea is pushing ahead with a host of interlocking technology initiatives bold enough to potentially make the period 2010-2025 a second Korean miracle, this time focused on convergence technology. The Korean Wave

Samsung Electronics Nr. 1

The Korean Wave has spread memory chops, flat screens, mobile phones and cameras around the world. In the first quarter of 2012, Samsung Electronics became the world's largest mobile phone maker by unit sales, overtaking Nokia, which had been the market leader since 1998. Now Korean Pop culture, K-pop, a musical genre consisting of dance, electronic, electropop, hip hop, is spreading around the world. Around 2 p.m. on September 22, thousands of people gathered at Sergels torg in Stockholm, Sweden for a "Gangnam Style" flash mob, which has been a mega hit around the world. "Gangnam Style" is now the number one on pop charts of Denmark and Finland and the eleventh on America’s Billboard chart. Many similar flash mobs have been spotted in New York, Berlin, and Norway.

On September 20, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history